Zetes and Henderson Group recently hosted a ‘Technology Day’ at Henderson’s facility in Northern Ireland. Zetes is Europe’s leading system integrator of identification solutions for goods and people. It has been operating for over 20 years and now has 700 staff in 13 countries. Zetes has been a public listed company since 2005 (see http://www.zetes.com/).

Family-owned Henderson Group are the owners of the SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVO and VIVOXTRA franchises in Northern Ireland and have been distributing food and grocery-related products to the convenience retail sector for over 100 years (see http://www.henderson-group.com/).

The day comprised talks by Marcel Kars (Vice President , Zetes Competence Centers) on current supply chain issues and the role of technology and by Pat McGarry (Logistics Director, Henderson) on achieving “Shelf to Shelf Edge Visibility”. The day also included a guided tour of Henderson’s facility, focusing specifically on radio frequency (RF) and real-time warehouse management systems, voice picking and electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) technology.

In setting the scene for the event some insights from a recent interview with NITL’s Edward Sweeney in relation to current supply chain issues were highlighted:

• “For the service provider, prices are inevitably dropping as companies try harder to compete and win business yet at the same time, the expectations are increasing as customers want more from their providers and seek help with their cost trimming programmes.”   
• “Pharma companies are faced with extensive amounts of compliance to ever tightening legislation. They are concerned with traceability, fraud and anti-counterfeiting measures, their supply chains must be transparent and highly visible.”

A case study about Henderson’s streamlining of logistics processes using voice technology is available at

http://www.zetes.ie/en/fiches/corporate/media-centre/case-studies/hendersons.cfm.